10) 𝑮𝒊𝒓𝒍, 𝑾𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏, 𝑶𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 by Bernardine Evaristo - 2019 Booker Prize Winner, Girl, Woman, Other connects the lives of 12 Black British woman while telling each ones story in a series of shorts.
9) 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕 𝑾𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏 by Sheila Williams - This book was an absolute "can't put down, must finish reading this or I won't be able to sleep because I'll be wondering what the characters are doing" read about three women who connect because of their secrets.
8) 𝑩𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝑨𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 by Jacqueline Woodson - Before the Ever After explores the story of a family affected by CTE, chronic traumatic encephalopathy through a child's eyes.
7) 𝑩𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒆 𝑮𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝑪𝒐𝒍𝒅 by Toshikazu Kawaguchi - This debut novel asks what would you do if you could travel back in time ... and you only have the amount of time it takes to drink a hot cup of coffee.
6) 𝘾𝙡𝙖𝙥 𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙇𝙖𝙣𝙙 by Elizabeth Acevedo - Some books go hand in hand, yes? This is the perfect companion piece to Tayari Jones' Silver Sparrow. Sisters, secrets, dipping daddies.
5) 𝙁𝙞𝙛𝙩𝙮 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙍𝙖𝙞𝙣 by Asha Lemmie - Post-WWII biracial Black & Japanese girl trying to find her place within her family and in Japan. All of the yeses!
4) 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘝𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘏𝘢𝘭𝘧 by Brit Bennett - It is everything. E-v-e-r-y-THING! Well developed characters, well thought out story lines, unpredictable. There's nothing I didn't love about this book.
3) 𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 by Rita Woods - If Octavia Butler, Tananarive Due and Toni Morrison wrote a book, it would be Remembrance.
2) 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘕𝘰 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 by Alyssa Cole - Cole might possibly have written the scariest take on gentrification that I've ever read or seen.
1) 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕 𝑳𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑪𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒉 𝑳𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒔 by Deesha Philyaw - Church lady or not, every woman can find a little bit of themselves within these pages. It's an absolutely brilliant read.
What books are on your top 10 list for the year?
